HISTORY IN MOTION
Children get unique view of local history on scenic train ride
BOYERTOWN » Area kids got to experience local history in a unique way Tuesday thanks to some area business owners.
Stepping inside the meticulously restored train at the historic Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyertown on Tuesday, 45 students from Exton and Pottstown involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region got ready to celebrate the end of the school year with a special lunch and trip through the Secret Valley.
The ride was the culmination of a year of student-mentor relationship building activities that were hosted twice a month by VideoRay and Bentley Systems as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
Local business owner, Scott Bentley, who owns VideoRay in Pottstown and who coordinated Tuesday’s event, said the train ride seemed like a fun way to bring an end to the year.
“I thought it would be cool, since I’m also involved with the railroad, to have kids ride the train and when the Bentley Systems people heard about it they asked if they could come along,” said Bentley. “I’ve been involved with Big Brothers since 1980 when I got my first little. I’m on the board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region, which is Philadelphia, three other counties in Pennsylvania and three counties in New Jersey.”
The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is a donor-supported organization that is aimed at empowering children to reach their highest potential through safe, one-on-one mentoring relationships. The organization serves Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania, and Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties in N.J.
The children and their mentors boarded the train at around noon on Tuesday and departed for the hourlong train ride and lunch that would give them a glimpse into the history of the area in one of the most unique ways.
“The Colebrookdale Railroad is a unique experience. We’re one of the oldest railroads in the country and it was built to serve the earliest iron making industries in the new world,” said Nathaniel Guest, executive director of the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust.
“The students that ride the train today and the folks from Big Brothers Big Sisters will be able to see where those old iron making sites were and be able to see some of the beauty of the landscape as it existed during an earlier time. The valley that we go through, called the Secret Valley, is the valley of the Ironstone Creek and the Manatawny Creek, and it looks fairly like it did during the era when the railroad was built ... The train itself is unique in that there’s really no other place you can go and ride a consist of coaches that replicate the grand era of American passenger travel.”
The train departed from Boyertown and took students through the valley into Memorial Park in Pottstown. “We are grateful to have Scott Bentley and his family to be such long-standing supporters of Big Brothers Big Sisters. For over 35-years, Scott has added significant value to our agency through a variety of ways including being a big brother, serving on our Governing Board of Directors, starting Beyond School Walls workplace mentoring programs at his family’s companies, launching an innovative college mentoring program at The University of Pennsylvania, and making generous financial contributions over the years,” said Marcus Allen, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region. “This train ride is yet another way to expose our kids to something new and exciting, while giving them the opportunity to learn about an industry they probably wouldn’t have otherwise.”